Statement on Judd Gregg Withdrawal as Obama Commerce Secretary Nominee

 Statement on Judd Gregg Withdrawal as Obama Commerce Secretary Nominee

Statement by Wayne Crews, Vice President of Policy for the
Competitive Enterprise Institute

 
Congratulations to Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) for standing on principle and
withdrawing his name as U.S. Commence Secretary nominee.
 
The easy path would be to stay in the job, and enter the history books as
holder of one of the most prestigious titles in American government and
society. 
 
While Congress seems recklessly bent on “stimulating” this nation off an
economic cliff, not just Gregg but the whole country should reject the idea that
America can spend its way into prosperity. In fact, spending and decades of
mixing of politics with free enterprise in virtually every realm of private
endeavor has damaged this country’s economic prospects to a now-incalculable
extent. 
 
President Obama taunted critics by saying “Doing nothing is not an
option.”  In fact, this package does active damage, which is worse than nothing.
Congress has received ample advice from numerous quarters on how to actually
stimulate a faltering economy whether through tax reform, regulatory freezes
and reform, liberalizing infrastructure and more. It has chosen to ignore
pro-free enterprise reforms—reforms that would actually do something–at
every turn.
 
This anti-stimulative piece of legislative wreckage posing as "stimulus" is
an opportunistic and politically motivated abomination unrelated to economic
recovery. We can’t know the full motivations of Sen. Gregg, but we do commend
his refusal to legitimize the stimulus or be a part of it and its destructive
aftermath.
 
I often tongue-in-cheek grant a Least-Objectionable Legislator (LOL)
Award.  Sen. Greg certainly warrants that distinction for this courageous
move.
 
»  For ongoing commentary on the no-stimulus package, visit CEI’s
blog @ OpenMarket.org
 
» Read more by Wayne
Crews
.